The present invention disclosed herein relates to relates to a substrate processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a batch type substrate processing apparatus in which, when a process is performed on a substrate by using an elastic blocking member, a stacking space is controlled in volume to minimize contamination on the substrate, thereby improving quality and productivity.
Substrate processing apparatuses used for manufacturing semiconductors, flat panel displays, photovoltaic cells, and the like may be apparatuses that perform an essential thermal processing process for crystallizing and phase-changing a predetermined thin film that is deposited on a substrate such as a silicon wafer or a glass substrate.
Typically, in case of manufacturing liquid crystal displays or thin-film crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, there is a silicon crystallization apparatus for crystallizing amorphous silicon deposited on the a glass substrate into polysilicon. To perform the crystallization process, the substrate on which the predetermined thin film has to be heated. For example, it is necessary that a process temperature for crystallizing the amorphous silicon is about 550° C. to about 600° C.
Such a substrate processing apparatus may be classified into a single wafer type substrate processing apparatus in which a substrate processing process is performed on one substrate and a batch type substrate processing apparatus in which a substrate processing process is performed on a plurality of substrates. The single wafer type substrate processing apparatus has an advantage in that its structure is simple. However, the single wafer type substrate process apparatus may be deteriorated in productivity. Thus, the batch type substrate processing apparatus is being in the spotlight as the substrate processing apparatus for mass production.